GRPolitics

Buhari’s London stopover fuels speculations

Published

6 years ago

May 4, 2018

President Muhammadu Buhari has made a stopover in London, as he returned from his trip to the United States where he held talks with President Donald Trump.

There had been no prior official disclosure he would make the London visit.

It would be recalled that the President in 2017 spent several months in the United Kingdom attending to an undisclosed ailment. Upon recovery and arrival in Nigeria, he admitted he had never been so sick all his life.

The Presidency, however, dismissed insinuations the visit had any significance beyond the ordinary.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Garba Shehu told journalists, yesterday, that Buhari’s technical crew decided to break the long trip from the U.S. to refuel and carry out routine checks.

According to ‎Shehu, “The big jet is under repairs. It has been taken for major repairs, so the President is using a small plane, and there is a limit to the distance the small plane can cover.

“The technical stopover I talked about is that the journey from the U.S. to Abuja is broken into two. Technical stopover is that the plane stops at a point, refuels, does some checks and then proceeds on the journey. This is very normal.

There is nothing unusual about it. In any case, they are already on their way back home.

“The plane can do Abuja-Washington. That’s about 12 hours. And the maximum the plane can fly is 12 hours, 40 minutes. But you don’t need to push it to the edge.”

But the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), displeased with the unscheduled stop, noted: “The Presidency must understand that President Buhari is not a private citizen. And as long as his upkeep and itinerary are sourced from our hard-earned resources, there must be full disclosure.

Citizens deserve to know the purpose of the visit and the cost to our nation.”

The opposition party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, charged the Presidency to end its cycle of secrecy and come clean on the technical stopover.

“President Buhari had on Tuesday left the United States, where he had an embarrassing and fruitless outing. And instead of returning to the country, detoured to the U.K. for another private visit without regard to full disclosure requirements of our constitution and laws,” the party said.

Criticising Buhari’s “foreign trips, which come at great costs and have not brought any gains to our country,” the PDP regretted: “The President has continued to de-market our nation in the international arena. The just-concluded Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London, where he cast aspersion on our enterprising youths and failed to return with any dividend, readily comes to mind.”

It concluded: “President Buhari’s admission at the Voice of America (VOA) that he was unable to reach any agreement with President Donald Trump on any matter of interest to Nigeria, during his U.S. visit and that he has no future development agenda to validate his 2019 re-election bid, confirms our position that the Buhari administration has nothing to offer Nigerians.”

The Presidency, meanwhile, has knocked the Nigerian media over alleged misrepresentation of issues during the meeting between the two leaders.

Trump, on Monday, read what could be described as a riot act to the Nigerian government, saying the continued killing of Christians in the country is unacceptable to the American government. He also condemned the spate of other killings by terrorists in Nigeria, describing it as a “terrible problem”.

But Shehu, yesterday, accused the press of leaving out Muslims in its reportage of the one-on-one encounter between the two leaders.

He said: “It is important to explain the context of the remarks by President Trump where he was quoted as saying the U.S. is concerned about the murder or killing, as he put it, of Christians.

. Guardian

Related Topics:(PDP)CHOGM Kola Ologbondiyan Lonon

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GRPolitics

Governor Peter Mbah Signs Multi-million Dollar Joint Venture To Birth Job Opportunities, Promote Sports And Youth Development In Enugu State

Published

4 months ago

January 23, 2024

Alice Ginika Simon

The Governor Of Enugu State, Governor Peter Mbah has disclosed a recent deal he signed for the good of the people of Enugu. On his Facebook page he wrote;

“I was delighted to sign a multi-million dollar joint venture agreement with the Del-York Group for “The 042 Arena and Entertainment Park” over the weekend.

The multi-purpose sports and entertainment hub is designed to focus on key areas of development, training, innovation, education, talent discovery, hospitality, and entertainment, among others.

The Sports Arena will on completion feature training facilities, athlete housing, a physical therapy and sports medicine centre, and a performance centre, while the Entertainment Park will have a variety of designs, including screening rooms, stages, amphitheaters; and live, work and play facilities, among others.

It gladdens my heart that investors are now favouring our dear state as a location for businesses and investments. This demonstrates the success of our ceaseless efforts to make Enugu the safest place to live, invest, play sports, and enjoy leisure.

I’m hopeful that this project will create thousands of jobs for Ndi Enugu and also attract more investors and tourists to our state. It will also provide a platform for our young people to showcase their talents, thereby promoting sports and youth development in our state and the entire South-East region.

Many thanks to the CEO of Del-York, Linus Idahosa, who came up with the concept and chose Enugu as the planting soil. My administration will give him and his team all the needed support to flourish.”

Here are pictures from the signing ceremony.

We commend the Governor on this development.

GRPolitics

Governor Peter Mbah Appreciates Dave Umahi Over Swift Response To Work On A Recently collapsed Bridge In Enugu State

Published

7 months ago

September 29, 2023

Alice Ginika Simon

Governor Peter Mbah Appreciates The Minister For Works, Dave Umahi Over Swift Response To Work On A Recently collapsed Bridge In Enugu State

The bridge which is on the federal road, had sunk in on Monday.Thank God no casualties were recorded due to the less movements around the area on the it happened.

Here’s what the Governor wrote;

“Yesterday evening, I had the pleasure of welcoming the Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi, to Enugu State. The minister who came to inspect the collapsed bridge between the New Artisan flyover and the Naira Triangle, at the Enugu – Port Harcourt expressway, assured me of its immediate reconstruction.

“He commended me for ameliorating the plights of my people by undertaking to dualise the Enugu State’s part of the Enugu-Abakaliki road, and also assured me that the federal government would expedite the necessary approvals.

“I sincerely appreciate the minister for the prompt response, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for inclusive leadership. This, for us, underscores the president’s commitment to his oath of office.”

Here are pictures from the scene visit

GRPolitics

PHOTO: Governor Peter Mbah Speaks At 2023 Lagos Chamber Of Commerce And Industry (LCCI)

Published

8 months ago

August 29, 2023

Alice Ginika Simon

The Governor of Enugu State, Governor Peter Mbah was one of the guest speakers at the 2023 LCCI. While posting pictures from the conference on his social media page, He wrote;

“Today, I was honoured to stand as Guest of Honour and Speaker on the platform of the 2023 Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) International Business Conference and Expo.

This event underscores our commitment to global partnerships and trade cooperation. From Enugu, I have proudly joined the dialogue that transcends borders.

As we engage in vital conversations, I extend a hand of partnership, inviting stakeholders to explore our nation’s potential. Together, let’s unlock avenues for national growth and prosperity.

In Enugu State, we are open for business; building partnership with the private sector to unlock the capital market, attract investments, and retake our place in the local and global economy.

I’m excited to share with you our state’s abundant investment opportunities and government inventives in agriculture and agro-industry, logistics and aviation, tourism, real estate, mineral resources, information and communication technology (ICT), among others.

We are also de-risking business investment in key sectors by providing access to land, providing support infrastructure, handling engagement with host communities, and facilitating the approval of building permits.

Amid challenges, our resolve for a robust business environment remains unshaken. We are intentionally revisiting our ease of doing business indicators to ensure the environment is conducive for businesses to thrive.

Join me in embracing this momentous stride as we amplify Enugu State’s prominence on the national and world map.”

Here are pictures from the conference.